The Street below the Western
Wall: Coins and Conclusions
Tuvia Sagiv
Prof. Roni Reich excavated below Robinson's Arch near the
Western Wall together with archeologist Yaakov Bilig. The results of the dig
were published in Kadmoniot 117 5759 (1999), under the heading "Excavations
next to the Temple Mount and Robinson's Arch. 1994 1996."
In this paper the archeologists noted that a "sealed"
site test had been conducted underneath the stone paving and they had
discovered coins from the later periods of the Herodian Era, and one coin from
the time of the Great Jewish Revolt against Romans.
The excavators came to the conclusion that the street was
paved after Herod's time, at least forty years after his death. However, the
conclusions were inconsistent.
The discovery of a coin from the year 68 A.C. under the stone paving proves that the street was paved after the
Great Jewish Revolt, and the walls were destroyed at a later period.
As such, the pile of fallen stones we found was not caused by Titus' soldiers.
If so, the wall was intact after the destruction of the
Temple. However, Josephus describes the destruction of the wall by the Roman
soldiers (Wars,
7, 1, 1). Is it possible that the compound was misidentified?
The perimeter wall of the compound does not date to the
Second Temple, but was built and destroyed at a later period.
Finding coins from the Second Temple period up to the fourth
year of the Great Revolt in a layer of dirt that separates the floor from the
pile of stones cannot provide any evidence of the years during which the street
was in use.
It is possible that the stratigraphy here is reversed
whereby dirt from the upper city, including coins from the Second Temple era,
settled on flooring placed there in a later period.
The pile of coins found on the floor does not contribute to
the dating either. It is possible that the coins were bunched together in a
sash that ended up there after falling down from the upper city. Over the years
the sash disintegrated and the bunch of coins from the Second Temple settled on
the floor from a later period.
The discovery of a coin from the period of the Great Jewish
Revolt under the paving stone
provides further evidence for the claim raised in the past that the compound we
found is not the Temple Mount compound and was, in fact, built in a later
period.
The axioms and paradigms of understanding the compound need
to be re-examined.
The Temple Mount compound was completed by Agrippa the
Second and 18,000 laborers were left workless (see Jewish Antiquities, 20, I, G).
The compound we
see today was destroyed before it was completed. This can be perceived in the
northern section of the Western Wall, and also in the fallen stones in the
southern section of the Western Wall where there are stones with only markings
of the stonework on the fringes, on which the stonework had not actually been
carried out.
The technology of the compound construction is not
characteristic of the Herodian Era. (see Vitruvius, About Architecture, tenth book,. a contemporary
architect of Herod Era). Projects that are known to be the work of Herod, such
as Jericho, Herodion, Masada, Caesarea and Samaria, do not have a construction
of this type, and do not use such large and heavy stones. (The Cave of Machpela
is not included in the list of Herod's works).
The Haram Al Shariff compound in Jerusalem is similar in
character to the Baalbek compound in Jerusalem, and to the Jupiter Temple in
Damascus. The compound is part of a unique architectural phenomenon in the
eastern part of the Roman Empire during the first centuries of the Common Era,
and does not pertain to the Herodian Era. (See a paper written by Arthur Segal,
Kadmoniot 117 p. 16).
The solitary coin discovered underneath the street paving
near the Western Wall can act as an important factor in re-examining the Haram
Al Shariff compound, understanding its designation and dating its construction.
In order to ascertain that the coin discovery was not
coincidental additional localized excavations should be initiated under the
paving stone in the "sealed" areas, in hope of discovering more
findings that will advance the archeological research.
Tuvia Sagiv
Sagiv
Shekarka Architects
37 Louis
Marshall St., Tel Aviv 62000
Tel:
03-6024658 Fax: 03-6024738
Email: sagiv@barak.net.il
1.11.06
(November 1, 2006)